Ultra-processed foods should carry mental health warning labels

Emerging research linking ultra-processed food to depression raises the question of whether labels would change behavior.

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A McMaster University study published in JAMA Network Open found that women in the highest quartile of ultraprocessed food consumption had 78% higher odds of MRI-defined vascular brain injury compared to women in the lowest quartile.

A McMaster University study published in JAMA Network Open on October 15, 2026, found that middle-aged adults in the highest quartile of ultraprocessed food intake had 40% higher odds of MRI-defined covert brain infarcts or high white matter hyperintensity burden compared to those in the lowest quartile.

A McMaster University study published in JAMA Network Open found that higher ultraprocessed food intake was not significantly associated with performance on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment or the Digit Symbol Substitution Test among middle-aged adults.

A McMaster University study published in JAMA Network Open found that middle-aged adults in the highest ultraprocessed food quartile had 1.7 percentage points higher total body fat and 5.7 mL greater visceral adipose tissue volume than those in the lowest quartile.

Participants in the highest ultraprocessed food quartile consumed 41.5% of daily food servings from minimally processed whole foods compared with 68.6% among those in the lowest quartile, according to the McMaster University study.

Researchers noted that the lack of association between ultraprocessed food intake and cognitive test scores in the McMaster University study may reflect ceiling effects or high cognitive reserve in the highly educated study cohort.

In a McMaster University study of 8,783 middle-aged adults published in JAMA Network Open, overall MRI-detected silent vascular brain injury was present in 9.2% of participants, including 11.3% in the highest ultraprocessed food consumption quartile versus 8.1% in the lowest.

Exploratory sex-stratified analyses in the McMaster University study showed no statistically significant association between ultraprocessed food intake and vascular brain injury among male participants.

Participants in the McMaster University study derived an average of 42% of their total daily calories from ultraprocessed foods, with median daily consumption ranging from 3.1 servings per 2,000 kcal in the lowest quartile to 12.8 servings in the highest quartile.

Criticism following the January 2026 release of the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans was unusually broad due to transparency concerns and reported panel ties to industry groups.

A March 2026 poll published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine showed that 50% of U.S. adults doubted the scientific basis of the dietary guidelines and 44% found them unhelpful.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine alleges that federal authorities failed to publish a public charter or meeting notices for the panel that drafted the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., seeking to force the withdrawal and lawful reissuance of the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine alleges that the panel convened to write the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines was drawn from meat, dairy, supplement, and fad diet industries.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine contends in its legal complaint that federal officials violated administrative law by releasing dietary guidelines created through a process lacking transparency and balanced representation.

Litigation over the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans resembles an ongoing federal lawsuit in which a judge temporarily halted child immunization panel recommendations due to unlawful HHS appointments.

A legal scholar stated that the Administrative Procedure Act prohibits arbitrary agency action, noting HHS discarded scientific committee decisions without adequate justification or convincing evidence.